Bama Guard crews to return soon from California

SpecialAlabama Army National Guard Sgt. Jim Irby of Mobile, a crew chief with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, paints distinctive markings on the aircraft so it can be spotted while dropping water on wildfires in northern California. The state Army Guard sent crews with a Black Hawk and a larger CH-47 Chinook helicopter to California earlier this month to help fight the wildfires, which are largely under control. Helicopter crews from California, Alabama and 12 other states have dropped nearly 4 million gallons of water on flames that have scorched more than 900,000 acres. The Alabama helicopters and their crews are expected to return home in the next few days.